Home
by FalconWind
Summary: Unicron is defeated, and the war over. But at what cost? Cybertron lies in ruins, and both the Decepticons and Autobots have been decimated. Only in the aftermath can Shockwave see the terrible futility of war. AU. Please Review!


Home

by FalconWind

Author Note: One shot, though I might do another in the same universe. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. Shockwave is portrayed a little out of character, for the sake of the story. Shockwave has long been a favourite or mine. I don't own Transformers, Hasbro does. I'm not making any money. I dislike the new incarnation of the transformers. I'm sure japanese people are rioting as we speak.

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Unicron is defeated, and the war over. But at what cost? Cybertron lies in ruins, and both the Decepticons and Autobots have been decimated. Only in the aftermath, can one truly see the futility of war. Only now can Shockwave see the terrible price paid by their home, Cybertron.

Shockwave surveyed the landscape once again. His single optic glowed faintly as the sight managed to cause his limited emotional circuits to surge. The sight was appalling, and scarcely believable. Logic told him that there was no reason to think that such destruction was not possible, but the scale was simply so huge that it never occurred to him that it might come to be.

Throughout his long service in the Decepticon military, he had never witnessed such widespread ruin. Never in any of the largest skirmishes had such destruction been wrought. And yet, he was somehow supposed to pick the pieces up and start again. The task was monumental, and the planning involved challenged even his intellect.

"Why do you always come here?" a female voice said from below, breaking the silence.

He looked down and regarded his unlikely human counterpart, Alise Yamamoto. "I am simply reevaluating the project."

"The view never changes," she pointed out. "It will take decades, if not a century for Cybertron to heal its wounds."

Shockwave did not respond to this observation, he simply continued to look into the twisted wreckage that comprised half of Cybertron's surface. The wounds Unicron made were deep, both on the planet and in the minds of its inhabitants.

"It must be heartbreaking... metaphorically speaking, to see your world in such a state," Alise commented, quietly, almost reverently, as if to not disturb a grave. And it had was a grave to many.

Shockwave considered the words. As inapplicable as it was, the term carried with it a meaning that was universally accurate. If Shockwave had had a heart, it certainly would have felt something akin to mechanical failure.

"It is... disturbing." He said, slowly.

She snorted, a unique human sound which he could not, nor wished to, replicate. "That's an understatement of titanic proportions. I know if I saw the Earth like this, I would cry myself to death."

He understood the sentiment. Just as Earth was the cradle of humanity, Cybertron was the home of every Cybertronian. It belonged, he had finally admitted, to no one faction. Each could claim it with equal birthright. It was his home, and Alise's adoptive one. He felt shame, in knowing that he could have not better by it, and perhaps prevented the devastation if he'd acted sooner.

"We do not cry," he pointed out.

"But you feel," she said, knowing that it was true. "Some more than others, but you do feel. Even you, Shockwave."

Reluctantly, he nodded, admitting to her what he often hid from others. "As a soldier, it is logical that I be accustomed to destruction. But this... this is appalling."

"War is appalling, Shockwave. This is what war did to your planet." Alise placed her hand on Shockwave's leg. While he didn't understand the human need for physical contact, he realized that it was simply a method of communicating degrees. Alise's touch simply meant she was especially sincere. "I've heard that, centuries ago, Cybertron was a golden beacon of hope, prosperity and science."

Shockwave nodded again, an action he had derived from his interactions with the Autobots and the many humans that now resided on Cybertron. "Indeed, it was a different time. A time of peace and progress."

"It can be that way again, you know," Alise said, trying to imagine the whole planet a golden sphere. "We can start a new Golden Age. We simply have to want it."

"The Decepticons do not know what they want, Alise," Shockwave said, his head dipping, as if sullen. "We have fought so long and hard for Cybertron... and now the war is over. Neither Autobot nor Decepticon can claim victory... and yet, neither can be considered defeated."

"Soldiers become restless without wars to fight," she said, thinking about Galvatron and his band of rebels. "When war has consumed you, you don't know what peace is anymore. Some have fought for so long that they don't even remember what peace is like. Some fear it, and others will even fight it." Alise stared into the abyss, the cold wind of Cybertron blowing through her hair.

For the faintest of moments, Shockwave thought her some divine being, a creature not of flesh or even metal, but of pure wisdom. "It is most illogical. However, war is also illogical. That is something which I have learned. It is something I... wish... I had seen earlier."

Alise leaned against the cold metal of Shockwave's leg, the smooth alloy pressed against her warm face. "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. But we shouldn't dwell on it either; what's done is too late to change. Now we have to work for a better future, and make sure it never happens again."

The past, Shockwave knew, was always a factor. Past enemies, past aggression, past animosity, and past warriors, were all working against them. Hope was an illogical concept, but Shockwave had realized that he wasn't as logical as he had thought he was. If he'd been so logical, he'd have strived for peace a long time ago. Perhaps not right away, but certainly upon seeing the damage that was done to Cybertron as a whole. As illogical as it was, he did hope that quantum probability would, in some small way, work to their advantage. That was to say, he wished for the best of luck.

And as strange as it might seem, Alise always managed to make him feel more optimistic. It was as if her idealism had a way of affecting probability itself. She called it faith, and so Shockwave too, called it faith. Her strength was his own, and he found it invaluable.

"We should head back to headquarters," Shockwave said, kneeling to meet the slender woman. Without a word, he allowed her to climb onto his shoulder. "Rodimus Prime will no doubt be waiting for us to return."

She nodded, thinking of the Autobot leader. He was, at times, still suspicious, but he meant well and always listened. And ever since they had joined forces to defeat Unicron that fateful day, they'd worked well together. For what Shockwave lacked in charisma, Rodimus more than made up for it. And the young Prime's inexperience was tempered by Shochwave's vast wealth of knowledge and strategic ability.

Shockwave reflected upon the past few years, so small they were compared to his overall lifespan, and yet, so profound they had been. To think, back then, that he would have killed Alise without so much as a second thought. And yet now, he could not imagine doing so.

For the first time in centuries he planned for peace, not conquest, and the prospects were so much more rewarding. Alise had helped to show him the value, the logic of peace, and he owed her more than she could possibly know.

"Ready?" He asked, as the woman clutched him tightly.

She nodded. "Let's go home."

With that, he soared into the sky.

The End

Well, how was it? Please review!


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